Headgear

ABSTRACT

Headgear that includes left and right earguards that with an oval shaped flat-portion, an oval shaped curved portion attached to the inside of the flat portion, and an oval-shaped raised ridge attached to the inside of the curved portion. An earhole covered by mesh is attached to the raised ridge. Straps attach the right and left earguards together.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This utility patent application filed under 35 USC §111 claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application 61/800,047 filed on Mar. 15, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a headgear for protecting the ears of athletes, and in particular, for combat sports such as grappling, wrestling, fighting and mixed martial arts.

BACKGROUND

A variety of protective headgear is used in combat sports such as wrestling. The typical headgear has rigid ear coverings held in place by several straps. The straps are adjustable and generally pass over the head, behind the head and over or under the chin.

Grappling-related sports can have complex and situation-based tactics such that an important aspect of competing is for the athletes to be able to hear and understand the commands and instructions of their coaches. Unfortunately, headgear can making hearing difficult since a major portion of the ear is covered and there may be significant background noise. During an intense match, the headgear can also exacerbate overheating since a significant amount of heat loss is prevented by covering the head and ears.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, headgear with improved hearing includes a left and right earguard attached by a set of straps. Each earguard includes a flat outer portion, a curved inner portion attached to the inside of the flat outer portion, and a raised ridge attached to the inner curved portion.

Embodiments may include one or more of the following features. For example, the straps may attach the left and right earguards in a biaxial arrangement. A resilient material, such as, for example, a foam pad or gel, can be used to cover the more rigid plastic of the left and right earguard.

A mesh fabric may be used to cover the earhole and a band may cover the ridge to secure the mesh fabric to the earguard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows headgear with left and right earguards;

FIGS. 2-5 show one of the headgear embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows the band and ridge that holds the mesh over the earhole;

FIGS. 7-10 show another embodiment of the headgear;

FIGS. 11-12 show another embodiment of octagonal-shaped headgear;

FIGS. 13-14 show another embodiment of triangular-shaped headgear; and

FIGS. 15-17 show another embodiment of the headgear with additional sound ports.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, headgear incorporating an embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The headgear includes a right earguard and a left earguard which are substantially minor images of each other. Since the right and left ear protection shells are symmetrical, the descriptions of each earguard are essentially identical.

The headgear is held in position by straps which are positioned in an approximate biaxial arrangement. The biaxial straps prevent straps from easily shifting thereby interfering with the competition. The straps are adjustable to ensure a good fit.

The design represents a biaxial “clock” strap position. In comparison to the face of a clock, the strap positions are at 10:30, 1:30, 7:30 and the chin strap position is at 4:30. When adjusted correctly, it eliminates a design problem of some headgear that allows the front strap to fall into the athletes eyes. Thus, the new “clock” position of the front head strap will not fall into the eyes of the athlete during exercise.

Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the earguard includes an outer flat portion, an inner curved portion, and a ridge. The ridge is a raised portion that surrounds an ear cut-out.

A mesh cover piece is placed over the ear cut-out and a ring or band matching the perimeter of the ridge sandwiches the mesh between the ridge and the band thereby fixing it in place. The band is show above the ridge in FIG. 6.

The earguard is made of a rigid plastic and it is covered by a resilient material, such as, for example, a soft foam pad (not shown). The resilient material is slightly higher than the ridge to provide a smooth surface.

Another embodiment of the headgear is shown in FIGS. 7-10 in three straps are attached to the headgear with slots and a chin strap is secured to the headgear with a rivet or a grommet. Otherwise, the headgear utilizes a similar design with mesh secured between the ridge and band to cover the earhole.

FIGS. 11-12 show another embodiment which utilizes an octagonal-shaped earguard. The earguards may have multiple slots so that the user can use more or less straps or can move the position of the straps based on personal preference.

FIGS. 13-14 show another embodiment which utilizes a triangular-shaped earguard. These earguards may also have multiple slots so that the user can use more or less straps or can move the position of the straps based on personal preference.

FIGS. 15-17 show another embodiment of the headgear. The earguard has sound ports that improve hearing. One or more of the sound ports may be facing forward with respect to the direction of the wrestler's head so that the wrestler has improved hearing in the direction he is looking. This can be helpful if the wrestler is trying to listen to a coaches instructions.

Other features may also be used for improved hearing. For example, the inside surface of the curved portion may be covered with a resilient material, such as, for example, foam, to act as a sound dampener and/or prevent reflected noise off of the inside surface of the earguard.

As another feature, a sound tuning device may be used as a band-pass filter to essentially amplify certain sounds such as a coaches' instructions.

Various changes can be made in the above embodiments and construction without departing from the scope of the invention. All matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 

1. An earguard, comprising: an oval shaped flat-portion; an oval shaped curved portion attached to the inside of the flat portion; and an oval-shaped raised ridge attached to the inside of the curved portion; wherein an earhole is defined by the area inside the raised ridge.
 2. The earguard of claim 1, further comprising: a mesh fabric covering the earhole.
 3. The earguard of claim 2, further comprising: a band that covers the ridge to secure the mesh fabric to the earguard.
 4. Headgear, comprising: a left and right earguard that each include a flat outer portion; a curved inner portion attached to the inside of the flat outer portion; and a raised ridge attached to the inner curved portion; straps to secure the left earguard to the right earguar.
 5. The headgear of claim 4, wherein the straps attach the left and right earguards in a biaxial arrangement.
 6. The headgear of claim 4, further comprising resilient material covering the left and right earguard. 